Festivals - Tartu
Festivals - Tartu
Festivals - Tartu
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The Mantova Festival of Literature, held in Northern Italy represents a very good example<br />
of an event that in a very short time - it was established in 1997 - was able to<br />
build a system of diversified relationships that include all the stakeholders and particularly<br />
the private sector to an unusual extent. It has a real grass root origin since it<br />
was initiated by a local bookseller and some friends with the twofold aim of providing<br />
a meeting place for writers and readers as well as contributing to the promotion of the<br />
beautiful capital of the Gonzaga dynasty, one of the most striking centres of the Italian<br />
Renaissance.<br />
The festival has become one of the most important annual gatherings for thousands of<br />
readers coming from far and near to meet writers and poets from all over the world.<br />
The whole city is taken over for a week by readings, performances, concerts, seminars<br />
in cafes, theatres, bookshops, gardens, squares, palaces. The whole community is involved<br />
in the event which is supported by the local public authorities but above all by<br />
over a hundred (!) partners, ranging from neighbourhood shopkeepers to some large<br />
companies based in Mantova, professional bodies and NGOs. The various forms of<br />
support that include patronage, sponsorship in cash and in kind as well as the commitment<br />
of three hundred volunteers that ensure the organizational backup, cover a<br />
large share of the budget and provide the visitors the unforgettable experience of a<br />
community opening the doors of their city in the name of arts and culture.<br />
2. 6. 6. · The foundations<br />
Across Europe foundations are playing a small but rising role. They may support – and<br />
in some cases they already do - festivals in developing innovative and challenging<br />
initiatives that step into contentious territories where public authorities do not like to<br />
venture.<br />
It is important to understand that foundations cannot replace the decline of public<br />
spending for arts and culture not only because they do not have the financial means<br />
to cope with this ambitious goal, but above all because they want to pursue their own<br />
agenda with their own priorities that may include geographical scope, fields of intervention<br />
and other.<br />
Many foundations are increasingly willing to support artistic and cultural projects<br />
when they have some social impact that means addressing the main social and political<br />
challenges of the contemporary European society. As it was previously stressed,<br />
because of their more flexible nature, festivals can react more promptly than most<br />
cultural institutions to the opportunities and demands of the civil society, without<br />
compromising their mission and artistic vision.<br />
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